Quote of the Day

"I still smile from ear to ear thinking about it. I have sacrificed a lot and it finally paid off. As far as wearing the belt to school, I wore the first three days after my fight. And not just to school, but everywhere. Then my fiancé said she would no longer be seen in public with me if I continued to wear the belt. I really miss being seen in public with her!" -- Nick Thompson pulling a Tim Sylvia after becoming the BodogFight Welterweight Champion

Snapshot of the Day

The picture comes from this article. Inside is a genius quote from Thompson regarding his missed opportunity to meet Vladimir Putin:

After winning the title, Thompson was summoned to a private post-bout gathering with Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who were in the audience. But something was lost in translation and the Goat missed the meeting.

"At first I was bummed out," he says. "But then I thought, lots of people get to meet the president. Who blows off the president?"

Wednesday morning

The UFC - HBO deal is 'signed, sealed, and delivered'.

'Inside the UFC' is coming back.

Rogan and Goldberg won't be on the broadcast team for the HBO shows.

Royce Gracie will be on BodogFight Season 3.

ProElite.com and MMAMix.com Unite to Create the Largest MMA Community Site

Ricardo Arona will replace Dean Lister as Roger Gracie's ADCC 2007 Superfight opponent.

No UFC fighters to compete in PRIDE Lightweight GP.

The Goat KO's Alvarez.

New promotions on the rise.

And lastly, a cool quote:

"Tito is living in a fucking bubble right now. You saw what happened. I showed up, he didn't. He's not afraid of me, but he has people around him telling him it was a bad idea. He is out there making himself look like a jackass. He should shut his face and worry about Rashad Evans."

Blandishment

Over at BloodyElbow, I polish my own apple for my correct predictions for the BodogFight PPV.

Mike Sloan gets it right

His write-up of the BodogFight PPV is spot on. As are these two choices comments:

For personal reasons due to countless inside jokes between me and those close to me, Nick "The Goat" Thompson has the greatest nickname in the history of mankind. …

There is no merit in regards to the "Fedor grabbed the rope" argument as to why he won. Everybody grabs the ropes and/or fence in MMA. He wasn't penalized because it was a one-time thing. It happens all the time so let's all collectively get over it and move on. Fedor would have won anyway. …

More humble pie

I believe Sherdog's Tomas Rios might want to eat a slice. Check out his prediction for the Thompson vs. Alvarez fight. A "journeyman for virtually his entire career"? Not so much, Tomas.

Video of the Day

Two of them. Two of the three fights I wrote about in my recent MMA Insight article. Luckily I went three for three in my predictions, thereby slightly redeeming my awful performance at UFC 69.

The camera angles aren't really that great and the commentating is a little too WWE for me, but whatever.

Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Eric Pele

Erik Pele vs Aleks Emelianenko bodog
Uploaded by redkiller77400

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Lindland

Fedor vs Matt- 14 April 2007
Uploaded by bosnia_

Snapshot of the Day

Look at The Goat's t-shirt and tell me what's interesting about it.

10 Questions with Nick "The Goat" Thompson

Here's a new segment I'd like to do in lieu of interviews: "10 Questions with X". 'X' being a fighter.

For the first installment, we've got Nick "The Goat" Thompson. Nick will be fighting Saturday for the BodogFight Welterweight Championship against undefeated Eddie Alvarez at the ICE Palace in Russia. The following are Nick's responses:

1. Nick "The Goat" Thompson: BodogFight's Welterweight Champion of the World. How does that sound?

It has a certain ring. It flows from the toungue very easily.

2. Your opponent has vicious punching power. What is your strategy to avoid the KO?

I plan on using my reach to create distance and frustrate him. Once he is frustrated and over commits, then I will look to take him to the ground where I feel I have the advantage.

3. If you win this fight, what's next for you?

I am only focused on this fight. Bodog has Pele, Shields and several other tough welterweights. I will be ready for whoever is next.

4. When do you expect to graduate law school?

Next Spring.

5. Gayer movie: "300" or "Saturday Night Fever"?

I've never seen "Saturday Night Fever", but "300" sucked ass.

6. Thoughts on the Zuffa buyout of PRIDE?

I want to see the best fighters fight each other. The buyout will allow this to happen more often.

7. Have you ever been to Calvin Ayre's Costa Rican pad?

Nope. But he does have a personal assistant that wipes his sweat. And I am dead serious.

8. Better tattoos: Aleks or Pele?

I really like Pele's work. I want to get something done by him when I go out to Vegas.

9. Better MMA wrestler: Sherk or Lesnar?

Sherk, for now.

10. Fedor vs. Lindland. Who wins?

I think this is a better fight than most people think. Randleman and Coleman were both able to take Fedor down fairly easily but they didn't have the ground skills to do anything to him. If Lindland gets him down, Lindland is going to be much more difficult when on top. As for the weight, Fedor only weighs 210 or so, so I don't think that it will be that big of a factor. I don't know if Lindland can win this, but I am interested to see him try.

Clash of the Nations = $

I know I've been hard on BodogFight recently. Their marketing and show production were awkward and despite the quality of the fighters, amateurish.

But the PPV this weekend is something different. I can say definitively that purchasing this PPV - even if the production isn't stellar - is probably a good idea.

First, there's the fight card itself:

Main Card:
-Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Lindland
-Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Eric Pele
-Eddie Alvarez vs. Nick Thompson
-Andrei Semenov vs. Jorge Santiago
-Amanda Buckner vs. Hitomi Akano
-Bobby Southworth vs. Roman Zentsov

Prelim Card:
-Amar Suloev vs. Andy Foster
-Bill Mahood vs. Steve Steinbeiss
-Josh Curran vs. Jarno Numinen
-Rodrigo Damm vs. Santino DeFranco
-Sergei Kaznovski vs. Dan Evensen
-Julie Kedzie vs. Julia Berezikova
-Ray Steinbeiss vs. Dmirty Samoilov
-Derrick Noble vs. Eric Oganov

By any UFC or PRIDE comparison, that is a hell of fight card. You've got both Emelianenko brothers, arguably the greatest middleweight in the world, top female fighters, excellent welterweights and more.

For me, though, the three main fights are worth the price of purchase alone:

Eric Pele is coming off a win over the highly-touted Bigfoot Silva and while Aleks E. is coming off a loss to Fabricio Werdum, his loss may be due more to inconsistency than a lack of talent. Should be a slugfest.

Nick Thompson against Eddie Alvarez has all the makings of a barn burner. Thompson has really found his home at Bodog and racked up some solid wins in the process. The same thing can be said about Alvarez. I think Nick might be the more cerebral fighter, but Alvarez is super dangerous. This fight should be very technical.



And, of course, the main event is something behold. Matt Lindland's got his work cut out for him, but I absolutely believe that unless he gets caught early on the feet, this match will be a lot more competitive than people expect. I've interviewed Lindland and he is keenly aware of his abilities. Moreover, he's not fighting Fedor because he thinks it'll be easy. He has all the respect in the world for his talent and accomplishment. You've got to give Fedor the edge, but do not be surprised if we see Fedor in trouble - particularly by guillotine choke - at various points during the fight.

The only drawback to this PPV is - I believe - the tape delay and lack of exposure. I'm not sure how widely available this event is for purchase in America. I think you can only get it through InDemand and the Dish Network. So the reach may be a little less than it should.

But there is genuine buzz around this event. I know casual fans who've talked about this card and UFC 69, not even realizing PRIDE was on Sunday. For sure, on paper this PPV gets my thumbs up.

Are UFC fighters paid fairly?

Over at BloodyElbow, I take a look what Nick "The Goat" Thompson had to say about it.

The reason for steroid use

Apparently it's aesthetics.

BodogFight welterweight championship contender and new Inside Fighting columnist Nick Thompson makes the case. Notable quote:

If the benefits are not all that significant, why do so many fighters take steroids? I believe so many fighters take steroids because of the “Matt Lindland effect.” Lindland is the best middleweight in the world. Yet, he found himself unemployed by the UFC shortly after one fluke loss.

Why? Some may argue it was because he was boring. Anyone who thinks this should watch his fights against Jeremy Horn or Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Lindland is a great fighter and is exciting to watch. In my opinion, the true reason Matt Lindland was let go by the UFC is that he does not look like a bodybuilder. Fans want to see freaks. They want to see Kevin Randlemans and Sean Sherks. Most fighters will never look like this.

No matter how much Kenny Florian, Jeremy Horn or I lift; we just aren’t built to look like these guys. Yet, our careers may depend on us looking big and strong. I think this drives many fighters to use steroids when they otherwise wouldn’t and that this is the reason steroids is and will remain to be so prevalent in the sport.

For whatever it's worth, this is the reason Tim Sylvia gave when he was busted. I'm sure the pressure is there and I'm sure this is part of the reason. But I can't imagine this is it.

Thompson claims you'd never know that Stephan Bonnar would take steroids. This is true. But that challenges Thompson's own contention about aesthetics. Bonnar took it to overcome an injury, not to look buff.

And that's why I think fighters take steroids: pressure. The pressure to win, the pressure to succeed, the pressure to be the best. Winning is the goal in every sport, but its particularly important in fighting. Pro basketball, football, and baseball players can spend years with losing teams and still eek out a career. Not in fighting. You've got to win. Period.

From athletes I've spoken to who've admitted to steroid use, they believe in steroids. That is, they'll intellectualize themselves into admitting the effects aren't necessarily as beneficial as people think, but they help. And more importantly, steroids are comfort. When the pressure is on, fighters will look to something that will seal the deal. Steroids act as the comfort blanket that allows fighters to know - know for sure - they're performing optimally. It's proof. It's liquid courage.

The irony is that the worry of whether they will get caught probably just adds to their pressure. So I'm in no way advocating steroid use. But what I will say that all the measures in the world won't stop steroid use. It can limit it, but it will never go away. As long as fighters are pressured to win, some will find a way to release the pressure. That could mean many things to many different fighters, but it will mean taking steroids for some.